Online psychological services in Italy: critical areas and recommendations for psychologists

Journal title PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Author/s Stefano Taddei, Bastianina Contena, Sara Dalla Verde, Gionata Giglioli
Publishing Year 2014 Issue 2014/3 Language Italian
Pages 21 P. 99-119 File size 129 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2014-003006
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

The term e-psychology refers to online psychological services for assessment, diagnosis, treatment, supporting and tests offered using Information and Communication Technologies (Drigas, Koukianakis, e Papagerasimou, 2011). Many guidelines tries to regulate this area, evaluating contents of clinical psychological websites. This article presents a description of online psychological services in Italy and verifies the adherence of online contents to guidelines. Authors have searched on Google 2 keywords "online psychological help" and "online psychotherapy". Forty-five sites of the sample are been evaluated by three independent judges through an observation form inspired to WebCounseling Site Evaluation Form (WSEF) and composed by 74 items. Results highlight some critical areas; most of all for what concern the ethical and legal issues, some problems are discussed.

Keywords: Online psychological help, e-psychology, online psychotherapy.

  1. Andersson G., Carlbring P. and Cuijpers P. (2009). Internet interventions: Moving from efficacy to effectiveness. Electronic Journal of Applied Psychology, 5 (2): 18-24. DOI: 10.7790/ejap.v5i2.16
  2. American Psychological Association (APA) (2012). Guidelines for the practice of Telepsychology. Retrieved from: http://apacustomout.apa.org/commentcentral/comment central PDF/Site26_Telepsychology%20Guidelines%20Draft_July2012_posted.pdf
  3. Atterer R., Wnuk M. and Scmidt A. (2006). Knowing the user’s every move – User activity tracking for website usability evaluation and implicit interaction. WWW ‘06 Proceedings of the 15th international conference on World Wide Web (pp. 203-212). New York: ACM.
  4. Bani M. (2010). Il counselling on-line [On-line counselling]. In Rezzonico G. e Meyer C., a cura di, Il counselling cognitivo relazionale [Cognitive relational counselling]. Milano: Franco Angeli, pp. 314-336.
  5. Barak A., Hen L., Boniel-Nissim M. and Shapira N. (2008). A comprehensive review and a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of Internet-based psychotherapeutic interventions. Jornal of Technolgy in Human Services, 26 (2-4): 109-160. DOI: 10.1080/1522883080209442
  6. Bauer R., Bauer M., Spiessel H. and Kagerbaur T. (2013). Cyber-support: An analysis of online self-help forums (online self-help forums in bipolar disorder). Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 67 (3): 185-190. DOI: 10.3109/08039488.2012.70073
  7. Botella C., Baños R., Guillén V., Perpiña C., Alcañiz M. and Pons A. (2000). Telepsychology: Public speaking fear treatment on the Internet. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 3 (6): 959-968. DOI: 10.1089/10949310045222
  8. Bucher H.J. and Schumacher P. (2006). The relevance of attention for selecting news content. An eye-tracking study on attention patterns in the reception of print and online media. Communications, 31 (3): 347-368. DOI: 10.1515/COMMUN.2006.02
  9. Carlbring P. and Andersson G. (2006). Internet and psychological treatment. How well can they be combined? Computers in Human Behavior, 22: 545-553. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2004.10.00
  10. Childress C.A. (2000). Ethical issues in providing online psychotherapeutic interventions. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2 (1): e5. DOI: 10.2196/jmir.2.1.e
  11. Consiglio Nazionale dell’Ordine degli Psicologi (CNOP) (2004). Linee guida per le prestazioni psicologiche via Internet e a distanza. Retrieved from:
  12. http://www.opsonline.it/psicologia-172-172.html Consiglio Nazionale dell’Ordine degli Psicologi (CNOP) (2013). Raccomandazioni del CNOP sulle prestazioni psicologiche attraverso tecnologie di comunicazione a distanza. Retrieved from: http://www.psy.it/linee_guida/linee_guida.html
  13. Di Pietro N.C., Whiteley L. and Illes J. (2012). Treatments and services for neurodevelopmental disorders on advocacy websites: Information or evaluation? Neuroethics, 5: 197-209. DOI: 10.1007/s12152-011-9102-
  14. Drigas A., Koukianakis L. and Papagerasimou Y. (2011). Towards an ICT-based psychology: E-psychology. Computers in Human Behavior, 27: 1416-1423. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2010.07.04
  15. Drude K., Ellenwood A.E., Heinlen K.T., Imar T., Lichstein M. and Asch P. S. (2008). Ohio Psychological Association Communications and Technology Committee. Telepsychology guidelines. Retrieved from: www.ohpsych.org
  16. European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA). (2006). The provision of psychological services via the Internet and other non-direct means. Retrieved from: www.efpa.eu
  17. Ennis L., Rose D., Denis M.P. and Wykes T. (2012). Can’t surf, won’t surf: The digital divide in mental health. Journal of Mental Health, 21 (4): 395-403. DOI: 10.3109/09638237.2012.68943
  18. Halpert A., Rybin D. and Doros G. (2010). Expressive writing is a promising therapeutic modality for the management of IBS: A pilot study. The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 1-9. DOI: 10.1038/ajg.2010.24
  19. Heinlen K.T., Welfel E.R., Richmond E.N. and Rak C.F. (2003). The scope of WebCounseling: A survey of services and compliance with NBCC Standards for the ethical practice of WebCounseling. Journal of Counseling & Development, 81: 61-69. DOI: 10.1002/j.1556-6678.2003.tb00226.
  20. Jansen B.J. and Spink A. (2006). How are we searching the World Wide Web? A comparison of nine search engine transaction logs. Information Processing and Management, 42: 248-263. DOI: 10.1016/j.ipm.2004.10.00
  21. Jansen B.J., Spink A. and Saracevic T. (2000). Real life, real users and real needs: A study and analysis of users’ queries on the Web. Information Processing and Management, 36 (2): 207-227. DOI: 10.1016/S0306-4573(99)00056-
  22. Joinson A.N. and Paine C.B. (2007). Self-disclosure, privacy and the Internet. In Joinson A.N., McKenna K., Postmes T.T. and Reips U.D. (eds.). The Oxford handbook of Internet psychology. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 237-252.
  23. Krasnova H., Spiekermann S., Koroleva K. and Hildebrand T. (2010). Online social networks: Why we disclose. Journal of Information Technology, 25: 109-125. DOI: 10.1057/jit.2010.
  24. Lingel J. and Boyd D. (2013). “Keep it secret, keep it safe”: Information poverty, information norms, and stigma. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 64 (5): 981-991. DOI: 10.1002/asi.2280
  25. Maheu M., Pulier M., Wilhelm F., McMenamin J. and Brown-Connolly N. (2005). The mental health professional and the new technologies. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  26. Mallen M.J., Day S.X. and Green M.A. (2003). Online versus face-to-face conversation: An examination of relational and discourse variables. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 40 (1-2): 155. DOI: 10.1037/0033-3204.40.1-2.15
  27. Mallen M.J., Vogel D.L., Rochlen A.B. and Day S.X. (2005). Online counseling reviewing the literature from a counseling psychology framework. The Counseling Psychologist, 33 (6): 819-871. DOI: 10.1177/001100000527862
  28. Manhal-Baugus M. (2001). E-therapy: Practical, ethical, and legal issues. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 4: 551-563. DOI: 10.1089/109493101753235142Montero-MarínJ.,CarrascoJ.M.,RocaM.,Serrano-BlancoA.,GiliM.,MayoralF.,LucianoJ.V.,Lopez-del-HoyoY.,OlivanB.,CollazoF.,ArayaR.,BañosR.,BotellaC
  29. and García-Campayo J. (2013). Expectations, experiences and attitudes of patients and primary care health professionals regarding online psychotherapeutic interventions for depression: protocol for a qualitative study. BMC Psychiatry, 13 (1), 64. DOI: 10.1186/1471-244X-13-6
  30. Mora L., Nevid J. and Chaplin W. (2008). Psychologist treatment recommendations for Internet-based therapeutic interventions. Computers in Human Behavior, 24: 3052-3062. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2008.05.01
  31. National Board for Certified Counselors and Affiliates (NBCC) (1997). Standards for the ethical practice of WebCounseling. Greensboro: Author.
  32. Ordine degli Psicologi del Lazio (OPL) (2004). Check-list di autovalutazione per i titolari di siti internet [Website self-evaluation check-list]. Retrieved from: www.ordinepsicologilazio.it
  33. Ordine degli Psicologi della Toscana. Delibera n°256 del 20/04/2002. Disposizioni in merito all’esercizio online dell’attività psicoterapeutica [Tuscany online psychoterapeutic practice resolution]. Retrieved from: http://www.psicologia.toscana.it/fileadmin/user_upload/Decisioni_del_Consiglio_e_Decreti_Pres/Delibera_G-256_-2002.pdf
  34. Oprescu F., Campo S. and Lovve J.A. (2013). Online information exchanges for parents of children with a rare health condition: Key findings from an online support community. Journal of medical Internet research, 15 (1): 1-12. DOI: 10.2196/jmir.242
  35. Pennebaker J.W. (1997). Opening up: The healing power of expressing emotions. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  36. Proudfoot J., Swain S., Widmer S., Watkins E., Goldberg D. and Marks I. (2003). The development and beta-test of a computer-therapy program for anxiety and depression: Hurdles and lessons. Computers in Human Behavior, 19: 277-289. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0747-5632(02)00062-6
  37. Rains S.A. (2013). The implications of stigma and anonymity for self-disclosure in health blogs. Health communication (ahead-of print): 1-9. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2012.71486
  38. Rochlen A., Zack J. and Speyer C. (2004). Online therapy: Review of relevant definitions, debates, and current empirical support. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60 (3): 269-283. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.1026
  39. SEMS, Search Engine & Social Media Marketing. (2011). SEMS White Paper. Survey 2011. Gli italiani e i motori di ricerca [SEMS White Paper. Survey 2011. Italian people and search engines]. Retrieved from: www.sems.it
  40. Shingleton R.M., Richards L.K. and Thompson-Brenner H. (2013). Using technology within the treatment of eating disorders: A clinical practice review. Psychotherapy. DOI: 10.1037/a003181
  41. Sparck-Jones K. (2003). Privacy: What’s different now? Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 28 (4): 287-292. DOI: 10.1179/03080180322500867
  42. Suler J. (2004). The online disinhibition effect. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7 (3): 321-326. DOI: 10.1089/109493104129129
  43. Taddei S. and Contena B. (2013). Privacy, trust and control: Which relationships with online self-disclosure? Computers in Human Behavior, 29: 821-826. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2012.11.02
  44. Vallejo A., Jordan C., Mañanes G., Andrés A., Comeche M.I. and Diaz M.I. (2007). Clinical psychology offers in the internet in Spain. Computers in Human Behavior, 23: 2133-2143. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2006.02.01
  45. Zack J. (2004). Technology of online counseling. In Kraus R., Zack J. and Stricker G. (eds.). Online counseling: A handbook for mental health professionals. San Diego, CA: Elsevier Academic Press, pp. 93-121.
  46. Zuckerman E. (2003). Finding, evaluating, and incorporating Internet self􀇦help resources into psychotherapy practice. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 59 (2): 217-225. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.1014

Stefano Taddei, Bastianina Contena, Sara Dalla Verde, Gionata Giglioli, L’offerta psicologica online in Italia: aree critiche e indicazioni per la pratica professionale in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 3/2014, pp 99-119, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2014-003006